Prior to my new Taboo, my last piece of tube equipment was in my youth, a Dyna ST-70 and PAS-3X. As so many articles have noted, brute power came to rule and I "thought" I did not have the time to futz with tubes.

Now, of course, I am in love again, and it's thanks to Steve, his team, and of course, all of you here on the forums. The enthusiasm of Decware owners is infectious. Thank you all.

I already am developing a tube stockpile, and with my Mini Torii soon on the way, and possibly the Ultra and the big Torii, too, I anticipate lots of tubes.

I have seen several references here to tube testers, though not by name, and over at Transcendent, I came across this tube analyzer: http://www.transcendentsound.com/Transcendent/Transcendent_Sound_Tube_Analyzer.h... . I enjoy kits, and have already ordered one of Bruce's balanced power supplies to build. Anyone know anything about this Analayzer? Believe me, I know it is more than I need, but might it be useful enough to justify the price? Building it is just a bonus. Any recommendations for a basic tube tester?

Also, out of curiosity, what do folks think of Bruce's philosophy about OTL amps and negative feedback? Seems significantly different from Steve's preference for avoiding negative feedback. Like Decware, there are many good impressions of Tanscendent in the audiophile community. I am in the club that there is no "one right approach" for all applications, and I thoroughly enjoy iconoclasts in this industry, so I am curious what others might think of this clash of 'clasts.

Maybe you should buy a Hickok or B&K, properly calibrated from a reliable source. That tube analyzer gizmo seems to be intended more for precise matching of power tubes for music instrument amplifiers. It is also fairly expensive. .

A good tester is better than money in the bank. The only ones being made now are really expensive. I have a Hickok 6000 that Roger Kennedy said grace over a couple of years ago. I also have a small Hickok 230 solid state tester to verify readings or test for shorts before using the Hickok. I have not used the 230 that much, though. So I do not feel totally comfortable with it. Hickok, Stark, B&K are really good choices.

A man I met (a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper in the day time) bought a B&K from Brent Jesse and cannot stop saying nice things about the whole deal. He is very satisfied with it.

While there are a lot of testers on ebay, it is very risky. I had mine re-fitted with a solid state rectifier to eliminate drift. As it was, it came back and read tubes that I had tested before the calibration at extremely close to and in some instances dead on with their former readings. For example, a 12AX7 might read at 1500 before and 1550 after calibration.